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"Huh?"
Judy looked at me in surprise.
"I just wanted to talk to her and warn her."
"Yeah..."
I nodded.
"...but knowing you, she was either your ex, or she had a chance to be back then. And now we have to show her that you're happy."
"Ahem... not all the girls I talk to were my lovers."
"So this Maiko wasn't one of them?"
"Well, she was... but not for long!"
"Case in point..."
I nodded.
"...and you two didn't break up on good terms, right?"
"Well..."
Judy looked away.
"And you know, knowing you, you're probably both to blame."
"What?!"
"It's simple..."
I shrugged.
"...you, despite living in this city, are still a good girl, raised by your grandmother and grandfather. Yeah, you've got a bit of a 'Night City resident' vibe now, so you go on jobs without a problem, you can handle the deaths of gangers, and a lot of other things, but at your core, you're still that same good girl. And Parker was a self-absorbed bitch who was climbing to the top over people's heads. You wouldn't stand for that... Knowing this city, Maiko has to be an even more hardened Night City resident, and you wouldn't be able to get along with someone like that... unless she made some compromises..."
"Tch... but I can get along with you, with all of you!"
"We're not city residents..."
I shrugged.
"I was thinking about leaving even before I met you... Panam is a nomad. Lucy... we all know her story and that she doesn't give a damn about this city. Kiwi has her own story, but the result is the same as Lucy's. I guess, out of all of us, only Becca can truly be called a Night City resident..."
"Hey! I'm with you guys!"
"...with us, with us. You're not going anywhere, since we're a good influence on you."
I smiled at our weapons expert.
"So we all have pretty much the same mindset. And I'm not just talking about the fact that we're all sick of Night City, and not even that we're not trying to get to the top over other people's heads..."
I shrugged.
"...that's just the surface level that anyone who talks to us for a couple of days can see. And how many more similarities are there on a deeper level?"
"Well... I guess..."
Judy nodded, unsure.
"So how do you want to destroy your friend?"
"Uh... can we make some sushi?"
I blinked.
"Hmm... I've never made it before... but in general, I could try... I think I could make it pretty well, especially if I follow a recipe strictly."
"Then don't bother... it's better not to experiment... oh, let's have that, what's it called, borsch..."
"Borsch?"
"Yeah. You made it once, and we all really liked it, and for the main course... I want steak and fries..."
"Mashed or fries?"
"Fries, of course!"
"Perfect..."
I nodded.
"...I'll check if we have all the ingredients now, and if we do, I'll start cooking. If not, I'll have to adjust the menu..."
I gathered the empty plates and put them in the lift, then went down to the kitchen and started a food inventory check...
"Judy, we have a small problem..."
"Yeah?"
"No ingredients for the borsch, and getting fresh natural ingredients delivered..."
"Yeah, I get it... so what can you offer?"
"Well... to start, I can make a light salad... then, as you asked, steak and fries, and for the soup..."
I thoughtfully looked over the fridge and a few open cabinets.
"...I can offer a light noodle soup."
"Hmm..."
"Then better not..."
Lucy shook her head.
"...a light soup like that might ruin the impression of the truly delicious food."
"I agree..."
Judy nodded.
"Well, you're the main clients here..."
I shrugged and, taking out a knife, handed it to Lucy.
"You'll help?"
"I already said I would..."
"And is there work for me?"
I glanced at Judy and, after thinking about it, I nodded. Then I took out another knife and held it out to her, handle first.
"Alright, Lucy, look..."
I showed the white-haired girl what I needed from her, and then I showed the same thing to Judy. Only after that could I finally get to cooking myself...
A few hours later. ***
The doorbell rang...
"I'll get it..."
"Go on..."
I nodded at Judy. Lucy and I—or rather, just me, since all that was left was to put the food on the plates and serve it, and I didn't need two people for that—were finishing up.
"Come in..."
Judy closed the door. I saw the guest walk into the kitchen, and she did so with a very confident stride.
"Hmm... I see you've moved up in the world... you can afford to keep a boy-cook for yourself."
"And I see you've completely stopped being able to read people..."
Judy, who came in a little after her acquaintance, was relatively calm and only glanced at me with a slight hint of worry. But I didn't give a damn about what a total stranger had to say, so I just ignored her.
"This is my boyfriend, David."
"Ahem?"
"No, you didn't mishear me. My tastes have changed a little. I still like girls, though. So David and I have two girlfriends in common."
"Hmm..."
This time, the girl's hum was a little shocked, and her judging gaze went over me first, and then it stopped on Lucy, who wasn't about to leave me alone in the kitchen. She was watching my every move.
"No, she's not our girlfriend yet..."
"Yet?"
"Yeah... she and another girl are trying to get into our relationship."
"Wow... you've changed more than I thought..."
"We all change."
Judy shrugged casually. I, meanwhile, was already loading the lift with food.
"Should we go up to the dining room?"
"Judy... doesn't your boy know any manners?"
"Her boy doesn't give a damn about YOUR rules. And the common rules of etiquette say that when you're a guest, you should at least show some visible respect to the people who invited you. But you don't seem to know that... what else can you expect from someone like you..."
I shrugged and, after closing the lift door, I pressed the button. Then I turned around and went to the stairs. Maiko was gasping for air.
"Maiko, if you don't stop provoking everyone, you should leave."
"But you're the one who invited me!"
"I offered for you to come because I have some important data for you. And I'll emphasize, the data is important to you, especially considering your ambition to get to the top and your unwillingness to give up your current position."
"Alright..."
From the sound, Maiko lit a cigarette.
"We don't smoke in here..."
"Hey!"
"As I said, we don't smoke in here."
"But you yourself..."
"Haven't for a long time. Now, go upstairs. Luckily for you, we're good and hospitable hosts, and lunch was made with you in mind."
When Maiko went upstairs and sat down at the table, all the plates had already been set, and she was looking at the abundance of delicious and natural food with surprise.
"Is this... natural?"
"Yeah..."
Judy answered her with visible indifference.
"And you decided to spend so much money for me?"
Surprise was in Maiko's voice.
"For you? No... we ALWAYS only eat natural food. Since I joined David's crew, I haven't even eaten a burrito from a vending machine."
"Ahem... wow... you're lucky."
A silence descended on the dining room for a while, during which we started to eat. And at that moment, Judy started to talk.
"So, why I called you... someone is trying to push you out of your spot."
Maiko continued to chew and only raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"And no, it's not some idealists. It's your acquaintance, Parker."
"Pff..."
With that sound, Maiko expressed all her feelings about a candidate like that taking her place.
"And she wanted to use us for it..."
"Us?"
"She wanted to say, me, or rather, my alias... Ghost."
"Cough..."
Maiko choked and spent a couple of minutes coughing up a piece of food that had gone down the wrong way. But none of us even thought to get up; we just watched the girl. She finally managed to clear her throat.
"You're Ghost?!"
"Yeah."
"Fuck..."
She looked around nervously.
"Don't worry, if we wanted to zero you out... we would have done it right there in your office. But you're here, and you're sitting at the same table as us, and it's all thanks to David..."
"Huh?"
"The thing is, when I was pulling Evelyn out of Woodman's room, where he was assaulting her after someone hacked the Clouds and burned out her doll chip, I had similar thoughts. And David was even ready to help me, but he asked me to think about it... what would it change?"
"And what would it change?"
"Nothing..."
Judy shrugged.
"...they'll just put someone else in Woodman's place, someone who might even be worse than him. And you... well, if we zeroed you out, you don't really have any say in anything..."
"I don't?"
Maiko flared up.
"You don't... you're a shadow queen, but only as long as Woodman is in charge. The next overseer will just demote you to a regular doll. If you're lucky..."
"Ahem..."
Maiko was clearly very uncomfortable hearing this.
"I think the current head of the Clouds doesn't even know you exist..."
"I..."
"In short, there's no point in staging a coup; it won't change anything unless I'm in charge, and I don't want to run the Clouds; it's not my thing..."
"You... haven't changed..."
"Uh-huh..."
Judy nodded.
"Anyway, I'm sure Parker won't drop this, so you better watch out so you don't die..."
"That's... thanks. Do you know who she might hire?"
I shrugged.
"Who knows... no, I have a theory, of course... but if she agrees, it'll be a huge mistake."
"You're talking about V?"
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"She already has a ton of problems, and if she agrees to this stunt..."
I shrugged.
"I see... so you don't know who she might be able to rely on?"
"In the current situation in the city? Even our fixers, who are supposedly good solos, asked us to stay low and not get into trouble."
"So you don't want to work as security for the Clouds?"
I sighed.
"You need those problems?"
"Huh?"
"Well, think about it, the Claws won't be able to keep their hands to themselves... and then I won't be able to restrain myself and I'll just zero out the bastard who starts touching my girls..."
I looked Maiko in the eyes carefully.
"Wow... and that would force them to start acting..."
"Exactly... We warned you, and now it's up to you to deal with it..."
"I see..."
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